[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":241},["ShallowReactive",2],{"lesson-\u002Flessons\u002F1-emergency-fund":3,"lesson-next-\u002Flessons\u002F1-emergency-fund":123},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":87,"duration":88,"extension":89,"meta":90,"navigation":91,"order":92,"path":93,"quiz":94,"seo":119,"sitemap":120,"stem":121,"__hash__":122},"lessons\u002Flessons\u002F1-emergency-fund.md","Lesson 1: The emergency fund",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":79},"minimark",[9,13,18,26,29,33,53,57,72,76],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Every money plan starts in the same unglamorous place: cash for when things go wrong.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"why-this-comes-before-everything","Why this comes before everything",[10,19,20,21,25],{},"Without a cash buffer, every surprise becomes debt. The tyre, the tooth, the retrenchment — they land on a credit card at 20%+ interest, and now you're paying for the emergency ",[22,23,24],"em",{},"and"," the borrowing. The emergency fund is what makes every other money decision safe to make.",[10,27,28],{},"It's also why this lesson comes before investing. Investments are volatile and slow to access; emergencies are immediate. If your only savings are invested, a bad month can force you to sell at the worst time.",[14,30,32],{"id":31},"how-much","How much",[34,35,36,44,50],"ul",{},[37,38,39,43],"li",{},[40,41,42],"strong",{},"First target: one month of expenses."," Not salary — expenses. This absorbs most single emergencies.",[37,45,46,49],{},[40,47,48],{},"Cruising altitude: three months."," Enough to survive a job loss while UIF and job hunting play out.",[37,51,52],{},"If your income is irregular (freelance, commission), aim higher — six months.",[14,54,56],{"id":55},"where-to-keep-it","Where to keep it",[10,58,59,60,63,64,67,68,71],{},"Three rules: ",[40,61,62],{},"separate"," from your spending account, ",[40,65,66],{},"accessible"," within a day or two, and ",[40,69,70],{},"boring"," (a savings account or money market — not shares, not crypto, not your TFSA, which burns contribution room forever when you withdraw).",[14,73,75],{"id":74},"how-to-build-it","How to build it",[10,77,78],{},"Automate a transfer for the day after payday — even R500\u002Fmonth. Windfalls (bonus, tax refund, side income) are shortcuts: banking half of each windfall builds the fund years faster. When you use the fund — and you will — refilling it becomes priority one again.",{"title":80,"searchDepth":81,"depth":81,"links":82},"",2,[83,84,85,86],{"id":16,"depth":81,"text":17},{"id":31,"depth":81,"text":32},{"id":55,"depth":81,"text":56},{"id":74,"depth":81,"text":75},"Why cash in the bank comes before every clever money move — and how much is enough.","4 min","md",{},true,1,"\u002Flessons\u002F1-emergency-fund",[95,103,111],{"question":96,"options":97,"answer":92,"explanation":102},"What is the main job of an emergency fund?",[98,99,100,101],"To earn the highest possible return","To cover surprise costs without borrowing or selling investments","To save for a holiday","To reduce your income tax","An emergency fund is insurance you pay yourself. Its job is availability, not growth — it stops a crisis from becoming debt.",{"question":104,"options":105,"answer":81,"explanation":110},"Where should an emergency fund live?",[106,107,108,109],"In shares, for growth","In your TFSA","In an accessible savings account, separate from your spending account","In cash under the mattress","It must be reachable in a day or two, but not so reachable that you spend it. A separate savings account is the sweet spot — a TFSA burns contribution room you can never get back.",{"question":112,"options":113,"answer":81,"explanation":118},"A realistic first target for a new earner is:",[114,115,116,117],"Six months of salary before anything else","R100","One month of expenses, then build toward three","There's no point starting small","One month of expenses already absorbs most real emergencies. Three months is the comfortable cruising altitude — build to it over time.",{"title":5,"description":87},{"loc":93},"lessons\u002F1-emergency-fund","NNEVcC69Fonw0ULE7l3vhsnC2i69jRwEXxZHzsN0aoE",{"id":124,"title":125,"body":126,"description":207,"duration":208,"extension":89,"meta":209,"navigation":91,"order":81,"path":210,"quiz":211,"seo":237,"sitemap":238,"stem":239,"__hash__":240},"lessons\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa.md","Lesson 2: The TFSA",{"type":7,"value":127,"toc":201},[128,131,135,142,146,172,175,179,185,189,192],[10,129,130],{},"The tax-free savings account is the most generous deal SARS will ever offer you: money that grows completely outside the tax system, forever.",[14,132,134],{"id":133},"the-deal","The deal",[10,136,137,138,141],{},"You contribute money you've already paid tax on. In exchange, everything inside the account — interest, dividends, capital growth — is ",[40,139,140],{},"never taxed again",". No tax while it grows, no tax when you withdraw. For decades of compounding, that's an enormous head start.",[14,143,145],{"id":144},"the-limits","The limits",[34,147,148,154,159,166],{},[37,149,150,153],{},[40,151,152],{},"R36,000 per tax year"," (1 March to end February)",[37,155,156],{},[40,157,158],{},"R500,000 over your lifetime",[37,160,161,162,165],{},"Both counted ",[40,163,164],{},"per person, across all providers"," — two accounts share one limit",[37,167,168,169],{},"Go over and SARS taxes the excess at a flat ",[40,170,171],{},"40%",[10,173,174],{},"Unused annual room expires each February; it doesn't roll over.",[14,176,178],{"id":177},"the-rule-that-surprises-everyone","The rule that surprises everyone",[10,180,181,184],{},[40,182,183],{},"Withdrawals never restore contribution room."," Put in R36,000, take out R10,000, and you cannot top it back up this year — and your lifetime cap is permanently R10,000 more used. The TFSA punishes in-and-out money. It rewards one behaviour: contribute, leave it, repeat for 20+ years.",[14,186,188],{"id":187},"what-goes-inside","What goes inside",[10,190,191],{},"A TFSA is a wrapper, not an investment. Inside it you choose what to hold — cash, bonds, or equity ETFs. The tax break is most powerful on investments with high expected growth held for long periods, because that's where the most tax would otherwise leak away. What you pick is a personal decision — the wrapper works the same either way.",[10,193,194,195,200],{},"Track your room across providers with the ",[196,197,199],"a",{"href":198},"\u002Ftools\u002Ftfsa","TFSA tracker",".",{"title":80,"searchDepth":81,"depth":81,"links":202},[203,204,205,206],{"id":133,"depth":81,"text":134},{"id":144,"depth":81,"text":145},{"id":177,"depth":81,"text":178},{"id":187,"depth":81,"text":188},"South Africa's best tax break: how tax-free savings accounts work and the rules that matter.","5 min",{},"\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa",[212,221,229],{"question":213,"options":214,"answer":219,"explanation":220},"What are the TFSA contribution limits?",[215,216,217,218],"R36,000 per year and R500,000 lifetime","R30,000 per year, unlimited lifetime","R500,000 per year","There are no limits",0,"R36,000 per tax year and R500,000 over your lifetime — counted across all your providers combined.",{"question":222,"options":223,"answer":92,"explanation":228},"You contribute R40,000 in one tax year. What happens?",[224,225,226,227],"Nothing — limits are just guidelines","SARS taxes the R4,000 excess at 40%","The excess rolls into next year automatically","Your account is closed","Over-contributions are taxed at a flat 40% — R1,600 on that R4,000. The limits apply to you as a person, across every provider.",{"question":230,"options":231,"answer":81,"explanation":236},"You withdraw R10,000 from your TFSA. Your contribution room:",[232,233,234,235],"Comes back next month","Comes back next tax year","Is gone for good — withdrawals never restore room","Doubles","Withdrawals permanently use up room, both annual and lifetime. That's why the TFSA is for long-term money, not an emergency fund.",{"title":125,"description":207},{"loc":210},"lessons\u002F2-tfsa","sG6JVHULfdRdweAVM2cW42z_CQCzOQusv_lQWT7YRGs",1785421697452]